


The Perfect Christmas Movie

by FreckledSkittles



Series: 2019 SVU Advent Calendar [22]
Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: Advent Calendar, Banter, Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Party, Die Hard References, Fluff, M/M, Married Barisi, Married Couple, Mike Dodds Lives, Other, almost forgot, and he and sonny are best friends fight me, barisi rights, for the ending ofc, fuck man idk, guys its so late am i even alive anymore, ive written so much for that tag, thats it those are the tags goodnight everyone
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-23
Updated: 2019-12-23
Packaged: 2021-02-26 01:00:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,874
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21914860
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FreckledSkittles/pseuds/FreckledSkittles
Summary: Day 22 of Advent Calendar Writing Prompts.Breaking news: is "Die Hard" a Christmas movie? More at ten.
Relationships: Rafael Barba/Dominick "Sonny" Carisi Jr.
Series: 2019 SVU Advent Calendar [22]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1559359
Comments: 6
Kudos: 26





	The Perfect Christmas Movie

**Author's Note:**

> So uhhhhh heh guilty pleasures am I right
> 
> The alternate title for this is "Sonny Carisi Hung Out With Jake Peralta Again"
> 
> 1 AM writing times when you got three more fics to write for this event, two baked goods to make, six Christmas presents, one gift exchange due before Christmas, and a partridge in a pear tree to complete, but like a real gamer I'm determined to Get It Done I'm fine don't worry i'm f i n e 
> 
> I typically use four separate Tumblr posts to find prompts for this event. The prompt for this story is not from those posts, which you can find on the series page. I just wanted to write the squad™ trying to decide if "Die Hard" is a Christmas movie and which sides everyone would fall under. <3

When Sonny opens Liv’s door to invite the latest arrival inside and yells in excitement, Rafael doesn’t have to look over to confirm who has arrived at Liv’s annual holiday party. The only other person who could make Sonny Barba-Carisi shout with that much excitement and genuine joy, outside of his husband Rafael Barba-Carisi, is Mike Dodds. And he knows from their first share of words the danger the rest of the room is in.

“Welcome to the party, pal!”

“Oh, no,” Rafael groans, running a hand over his face and clenching his eyes shut.

Amanda and Fin try to peek over the wall blocking the door to see what’s holding Sonny up—and Mike, as everyone else can clearly hear. “What, you feeling threatened, Barba?” Amanda teases with a slight smirk.

Rafael rolls his eyes. “Hardly. Actually, that would be much better than this.” He puts on a smile when Sonny returns to view, his arms and legs tightly wound around Mike, and he stands up to offer a hug to their former sergeant. “It’s great to see you as always. I thought you’d be showing up closer to New Year’s.”

Mike smiles, stumbling a bit when Sonny slides off of his back to stand beside them. “So did I, but we hit a lucky streak and were able to get clearance for a few days between then and now.”

“Is that the excuse you’re using this time to try and steal my husband?”

Mike just winks at him while the rest of the squad comes to give their greetings. Sonny is giddy, hopping on the balls of his feet and jabbing his finger into Rafael’s side. When he turns to look up at his husband, he’s not surprised to see him eyeing Mike with adoration. “God, I’m so happy he’s here.”

“I might as well return my gifts,” Rafael teases with a smirk and a poke, “because nothing can top this gift.”

Sonny laughs and wraps his arms around his hips. “I think you might. Who else is going to accept ‘Die Hard’ as the superior Christmas film?”

Rafael detaches Sonny with a light shove and a frown. The topic of conversation had been kept up for at least a year, ever since Mike admitted to never seeing the movie “Die Hard” in its entirety. Sonny set a weekend aside for them to watch it and convinced Mike that it was a perfect Christmas film. Rafael, like the rest of the human population, had seen the movie twice, both a result of Sonny’s efforts, and was unconvinced by it.

Olivia greets Mike warmly and welcomes him to any food they’ve already laid out. She catches up with him while he plays with Noah; Sonny stays nearby, making Mike a plate of food and making inputs as if he’s reuniting with Liv himself. Rafael finds the behavior more amusing than anything. He knew the two had gotten close in the short time Mike had spent with SVU, and the last time they had hung out had been closer to August. Rafael would miss the way they interacted with each other if they weren’t quoting “Die Hard” every other second.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t make it to your party a few months back,” Mike says, a frown etched on his face. “I tried to make it back to the city in time but we got slammed with work the day of, and I couldn’t make it.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Liv assures him, patting his shoulder with an empathic smile. “I still got your card.” Mike smiles at that, not unlike a labrador retriever offered the chance to go for a walk. “And your dad brought your well wishes with him.”

Rafael takes a note to dig more dirt on that later; Olivia and William had been spending a bit more time together that was beyond their work relationship. Mike doesn’t show any sign that he registers the possibility, but Sonny arches his brows and shares a look with his husband. Of course.

“What are you doing for joint terrorism now?” Fin asks. “Weren’t you in Brooklyn last month and stopping that three-person identity theft gig that was trying to make it to the Canadian border?”

Mike, without missing a beat, makes a sound like a buzzer. “Sorry, Fin, wrong guess. Would you like to go for double jeopardy where the scores can really change?”

Before Fin can respond, Sonny jumps in. “Who are you, then?”

“Just a fly in the ointment, Hans. A monkey in the wrench. A pain in the ass.”

Rafael can practically feel his eyes roll into the back of his head. Fin looks unimpressed at least and just blinks in response. Mike, who had been chuckling with Sonny, clears his throat and nods. “No, it was, ah, the Bronx, actually.”

“Are you quoting ‘Die Hard’?” Amanda asks with a suspicious glare between Sonny and Mike.

Mike shakes his head as Sonny scoffs in mock disbelief. Rafael sees through it immediately; Amanda probably recognizes it just as quickly. “No, c’mon, Manda,” Sonny says. “Why would we do that?”

“Because last week you were trying to convince my kids that it was the best Christmas movie ever made.”

“That’s because it is,” Mike shrugs. 

Amanda looks between the two. “‘Die Hard’ is a great movie but it’s not a Christmas movie. It’s an action-Christmas movie. The action comes first.”

“There’s action in every Christmas movie,” Sonny argues. “‘The Santa Clause’? Santa falls down the roof and dies. ‘Home Alone’? Harry and Marv were played more by the stunt doubles than Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern.”

“If it’s a Christmas movie, then why was it released in July?” Rafael wonders.

Sonny frowns at that; they had already had this conversation after Thanksgiving. The Carisi sisters and Tommy had all agreed that Rafael had won, and he was not going to risk losing. “How many released on December 25th are not Christmas movies? Because I can count a good deal, Rafael.”

“Oh, please do.”

“Please don’t,” Amanda groans. “I’ve heard enough.”

Sonny’s jaw drops. “Manda! How could you?!”

Amanda raises her hands defensively. “Look, I like the movie, but it’s not a Christmas film!”

Mike grabs Sonny’s shoulder as the shorter of the two leans against the kitchen counter and bows his head. “You’ve broken his heart,” he frowns. Amanda rolls her eyes and scoffs.

“I don’t know,” Olivia muses, “I can see it both ways, but I wouldn’t play ‘Die Hard’ for the kids to watch.”

Amanda waves her hands in the air. “Exactly! Maybe a TV version, but if I want my kids to watch a Christmas movie, I’ll put on ‘The Grinch’.”

“Okay,” Sonny sits up and jabs a finger at her, “we watched ‘The Grinch’ when Raf and I babysat your kids and it has its own adult moments.”

“‘Die Hard’ is an R-rated film!”

“But if it’s a Christmas movie, why is it rated R?” Noah pipes in from where he’s been sitting on the counter in front of Mike. “I thought R movies were for grownups.”

“They are,” Olivia cuts in before anyone else can.

Sonny frowns. “I watched ‘The Godfather’ for the first time when I was eleven. It’s an Italian rite of passage.”

“See, that’s what I was gonna say,” Fin says, sitting up from the armchair he had been lounging in. “Kids see R-rated films without their parents’ permission all the time. It’s an adrenaline thing.”

Sonny nods in understanding; Mike just grins cheekily. “And,” he adds, “not to mention ‘The Godfather Part III’ can be labeled as a religious movie, because they take over the Catholic Church.”

Fin nods. “Some films can have multiple genres at the same time. Some can be mobsters with a religious twist, and some are Christmas and action films.”

“You can’t seriously believe what they’re saying,” Amanda glares at him.

He shrugs. “I get what they’re saying. I’m not gonna argue against it.”

“Besides the fact that the only reason why the mob gets involved in the Church is to legitimize the family business and cover their illegal tracks,” Rafael speaks up, “I thought the focus of this argument was to determine the validity of ‘Die Hard’ as a Christmas movie.”

“It is,” Sonny says. “And it is.”

“It’s not,” Amanda argues.

“It’s the perfect Christmas movie.”

“No it’s not.”

“Fine, then, Amanda, what’s  _ your _ perfect Christmas movie?”

“Not ‘Die Hard,’ that’s for damn sure!”

“Why are they dying hard?” Noah asks.

Olivia scoops him up and grabs her phone. “Alright, who wants to change the subject and talk to Uncle Nick?”

Rafael watches Sonny lean in to whisper something to Mike, who chuckles and nods as a response. At least Amanda reacts with as much disappointment, if a bit more verbal. “What were you saying?”

“Oh,” Sonny sighs, “just, y’know, how it almost looks like Mike got invited to the Christmas party by mistake, since he ended up in a fight over the timeless masterpiece that is ‘Die Hard.’”

Mike shrugs. “You know what they told me. Come to the coast, we’ll get together, have a few laughs.” He and Sonny break out into childish giggles after that. Rafael offers Amanda a refill of her drink; she requests the entire bottle of scotch he is already bringing over to them.

* * *

“Do you really think it’s the perfect Christmas movie?”

Sonny looks over at him, both of them bundled on the couch and settling down before bed. “What, you mean ‘Die Hard’?” When Rafael nods, Sonny leans into the back of the couch and pauses in deep thought. “I dunno. It’s got Christmas elements. It mentions Christmas.”

Rafael snorts in amusement. “Is that all we need these days? A mention of Christmas?”

“No, but it definitely helps. I like unconventional things.”

“Mm, that’s fair, at least. An action movie as a Christmas film. I could see the appeal”

Sonny perks up. “So you agree it’s a Christmas film.”

“No, I’m simply recognizing a good argument.”

Sonny huffs. “Liar.”

Rafael chuckles and kisses his cheek. “At the very least, there are many things that are unconventional about you. You’re a dual-threat of law enforcement and prosecutor, and you’re a queer man married to an equally queer Cuban man, living in Chelsea with a three-legged dog.”

“Spencer is our child,” Sonny reminds him with a jab to the side and a point to said greyhound curled up at their feet. “And he chose you.”

“I know. But even if I don’t agree with your choice of the perfect Christmas movie, please know that I admire your passion for the cause more than anything else.” Rafael smiles and leans his head forward to hide his face against Sonny’s neck. He radiates warmth like a furnace now that he has a large blanket over his lap. “I can’t attest to how perfect ‘Die Hard’ is, but I think you make Christmases perfect for me.”

Sonny, his cheeks glowing with a faint blush and admiration, hums in satisfaction and settles back into the couch, burrowing beside Rafael with a content sigh. “Yippie-ki-yay, motherfucker.”

“And since you brought it up, if you ever say that to me during sex, I will file for divorce.”

**Author's Note:**

> please note that those six are not the only ones at Liv's Christmas party and that there were others who overheard that conversation and got really confused
> 
> Also yes "The Godfather" is an Italian rite of passage it's also a timeless masterpiece what of it
> 
> If you liked the Dorisi friendship in this chapter, then you're REALLY gonna enjoy the next fic! We got some nice warm Dorisi boys for you...


End file.
